Polymarket faces New York lawsuit over disputed Bitcoin market

The complaint, filed July 3 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, names Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber alongside the platform’s parent entities. Plaintiffs William Wood and Thomas Bush argue that the market, which asked whether Strategy would sell Bitcoin by May 31, 2026, was resolved as "No" only after Polymarket retroactively altered the resolution requirements. While the original terms relied on SEC disclosures as the primary source of truth, the suit alleges the platform shifted the goalposts to focus on the timing of public confirmation rather than the actual transaction.

Legal counsel for the plaintiffs asserts that this shift undermines the platform’s core marketing promise—that its markets are rules-based and objective. Beyond seeking damages for breach of contract and deceptive business practices, the filing challenges the degree of control executives maintain over market rules, despite the platform’s reliance on the UMA Optimistic Oracle for settlements. This litigation coincides with broader regulatory pressure on the company, including an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission into the platform’s promotional practices and social media operations.